This has probably been discussed before, but I haven't found it, so apologies if I'm rehashing an old subject.
I've been reading some claims that the no-sparge method produces better beers from higher quality wort (no low gravity runoff) as opposed to normal batch sparging. I haven't tried this myself, but if it's true, I am interested in trying it. The disadvantage, of course, is the loss of efficiency because you're leaving a lot of sugar behind in the MLT.
Looking at Kai's analysis here:
http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Batch_Sparging_Analysis
under "Last running gravity", it seems that you have a choice to have a high last running gravity (approx. 1.040+ with 10-12 pounds of grain) with a no-sparge, or a lower (approx. 1.015 for 10-12 pounds of grain) last running gravity with a batch sparge, regardless of the number of batches used. If no-sparge really produces better beer, I wonder if you really need as high a value of last running gravity as you get from no-sparge in order to get this quality improvement.
So I got to wondering, could you do a hybrid of no-sparge and single batch sparge?
1. Mash
2. Vorlauf
3. Drain only a part of the first runnings (say, for the sake of argument, half)
3. Stop the runoff and add all the sparge water and stir.
4. Vorlauf
5. Drain the MLT dry.
It seems to me this would produce higher gravity last runnings than a batch sparge, but lower than no-sparge, and better efficiency than no-sparge (though not as good as batch sparge).
Surely someone has tried this before - I'd like to know if it's worth considering.
I've been reading some claims that the no-sparge method produces better beers from higher quality wort (no low gravity runoff) as opposed to normal batch sparging. I haven't tried this myself, but if it's true, I am interested in trying it. The disadvantage, of course, is the loss of efficiency because you're leaving a lot of sugar behind in the MLT.
Looking at Kai's analysis here:
http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Batch_Sparging_Analysis
under "Last running gravity", it seems that you have a choice to have a high last running gravity (approx. 1.040+ with 10-12 pounds of grain) with a no-sparge, or a lower (approx. 1.015 for 10-12 pounds of grain) last running gravity with a batch sparge, regardless of the number of batches used. If no-sparge really produces better beer, I wonder if you really need as high a value of last running gravity as you get from no-sparge in order to get this quality improvement.
So I got to wondering, could you do a hybrid of no-sparge and single batch sparge?
1. Mash
2. Vorlauf
3. Drain only a part of the first runnings (say, for the sake of argument, half)
3. Stop the runoff and add all the sparge water and stir.
4. Vorlauf
5. Drain the MLT dry.
It seems to me this would produce higher gravity last runnings than a batch sparge, but lower than no-sparge, and better efficiency than no-sparge (though not as good as batch sparge).
Surely someone has tried this before - I'd like to know if it's worth considering.